>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. th these are the stories that rewith following for you. iraq's prime minister meeting with president obama in washington asking for help and weapons to fight al-qaeda. just a handful of people signed up for obamacare in the first days it was launched. and secretary of state john kerry admitting that the nsa went too far in its spying program. ♪ iraq prime minister spending another day in washington making the rounds today.

he visits the white house. he is going to be meeting with president obama asking for help ending the violence he says has killed thousands of iraqis so far this year. mike viqueira is live at the white house. mike how can the u.s. help with this situation in iraq? >> there is no question there is a great deal of concern that iraq is sliding towards another civil war. the unitedations without a report today, more than 900 iraqis killed last month alone. among them, 852 civilians. another estimate has 5,000 iraqis killed since april as the country slides into more strife. the question is who is responsible? and this is his third day in washington and many believe this is not sectarian strife. many suspect that his forces are attacking sunnis, and a non-stop

violence of sectarian violence continues today. not so says malaki. he says this is al-qaeda. what does he what from the united states? what can the united states do to stop these killings? he wants more m hardware apache helicopters and other items from the administration. there are many influential members from congress who say he is attacking sunnis, criticizing him for allowing iran to overflying iraqi territory to supply bashar al-assad in syria.

and there is not much that the united states can do directly, since he would not allow u.s. troops back in 2011. so a very complicated issue and high steaks today in the oval office, dell. >> is there any sense that he wants troops back on the ground in iraq? >> we're not hearing that, and that is not going to happen obviously. we talked about the hangover with the american people and the president making it a political campaign point that he ended the war in iraq, absolutely no way in the world would u.s. troops be sent into syria. and so now the principle ask here by the iraqis and malaki.

the white house acknowledges their concern, they are working with congress, there is the question what congress do to stop the sale of arms. the way it works is the united states can sell or transfer those arms. the congress would essentially have to proactively stop it through the power of the purse or some other means. it looks like, judging by the public comments by jay carney yesterday, that the white house is disposed towards selling those arms to iraq, dell. >> thank you very much. the obama administration has been saying that millions of people visited the website to signup for health care, but the

actual number who enrolled was extremely low. >> reporter: even the president admits healthcare.gov has problems. but just how many people have gotten stuck or enrolled are figures the obama administration has been denying the public for days now? >> you have no numbers on who has enrolled? >> we'll have those numbers available mid-november. >> reporter: but exact enrollment numbers were off to a slow start. by the end of the second day only 248 people has enrolled nationwide. a staggering statistic considering the site had nearly 1 million visitors in the first 24 hours.

some are calling for kathleen sebelius to be fired because of the problems. now he is demanding answers on enrollment numbers through a somebody, in a statement issa said . . . >> reporter: secretary sebelius insists enrollment numbers to the site are not reliable right now. they are be released by mid-november. meanwhile she said the site is up and running and accepting indications albeit a little slow. just john kerry now acknowledging that the nsa has overstepped its mission. kerry defended the agency's surveillance work but he also said that that work had gone far beyond what was necessary to keep the country safe.

>> and in some cases i acknowledge to you, as has the president some of these actions have reached too far, and we're going to make sure that that does not happen in the future. >> meanwhile edward snowden is meeting a german member of parliament in moscow yesterday and offered to help with germany's investigation. now to syria where there are reports of an israeli air strike. stephanie decker has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: israel is not confirming for denying these reports. this is not unusual, never really comments opthese matters. we have had reported throughout the year of al'emed syrian

strikes one happened in january, and later in the year, believed to be a missile depo again at the time the israelis didn't comment, and just recently in october reports of a strike on the syrian/lebanese border, again no reaction from the israelis. what we do know is that israel takes the threat of hezbollah very seriously. and if any weapons get transferred to any hostile group especially hezbollah, it would take action, but the official line here from israel is no comment. and the man charged with trying to end the bloody war in syria is back in the country. imran khan has more. >> reporter: this is the man desperately trying to bring peace to syria. under-arab league envoy, lakhdar brahimi. a planned peace conference in

geneva is looking difficult. the syrian government has agreed to send a delegation, bra heemy is now trying to get the fractured opposition to the table. the opposition has made it clear that its members don't want to be part of any peace talks that allow president bashar al-assad to remain in power. that hasn't gone done well with the russians who are very close to the syrian leader. >> translator: unfortunately the syrian government was not able to agree with the opposition. it is still very complicated now. >> reporter: syrian rebels remain at war with the syrian government. the talks were not even a factor in their thinking, they said, and they will continue the

fight. and syrian state tv say government soldiers now control an important town on the road that linking two cities. the fact that rebel groups are divided along idealogical lines makes it difficult for them to form a united front, perhaps that's a fact tar bashar al-assad is banking on when it comes to him staying in power. halloween was pretty scary for some people in kentucky, a powerful storm causing damage. now the storm is expected to hit the northeast later today. for more on the weather we turn now to dave warren. >> yes, we are looking at more wind happening across the northeast. wind advisories and high wind warnings throughout the day today. we had a line of severe weather that came through pennsylvania and in through the northeast,

but they are no longer severe. we had wind damage, that's why you had severe thunderstorm warnings. many reports coming in, all of these orange dots are wind damage from storms. there's no flooding problems yet, no tornados or hail. just a wind event, and it will continue to be windy throughout the day today. we do have some arrival problems of some airport delays. arrival delays meaning flights going into philadelphia are denied. jfk is improving with just 30 minute delays, and no real problems in washington, d.c. new york will see temperatures climbing today, but then dropping over the weekend. there are some coaler air moving in, and the wind will continue

to gust. that is coming up with the national forecast. i'll have that later. >> it is going to be cold. dave thank you very much. 47 million americans will begin seeing cuts in their food stamps beginning today. we'll tell you about the adjustments some families are having to make. for justice. >> reality is...when it happens people just kinda shrug... >> learn how you can avoid sexual assaults, and what you can do as a bystander to prevent them. don't miss a special america tonight live town hall tonight 9 eastern on al jazeera america.

(vo) tonight ... >> does the nsa collect any type of data on millions of americans? >> no sir. (vo) fault lines investigates

what it's like to live under the watchful eye of the nsa. >> they know everything that you do, everything that you think, everything that you fear. they know how to manipulate and control you. the state has all the power. >> we have done more to destroy our way of life than the terrorists could ever have done. ♪ beginning today more than 47 million americans will have less food on their tables because of federal budget cuts to the food stamp program. to make matters worse it could be just the beginning. >> you put the bags in the basket for me. >> monshell and her 4 year old son michael have to watch their spending, even though she has a job in local government, she still needs help from the federal food stamp program.

>> between rent, light bills, water bills, everything -- nursery bills, i just couldn't afford to have food in the house. >> reporter: she receives $364 a month in food stamps and is grateful for that, but like 47 million other americans she is about to face life with less money to put bread on the table. this food bank serves meals to 260,000 people a year. >> we're very, very concerned about these reelections going into effect. the effect here in the state of louisiana would be like if second harvest just stopped distributing food today. we distribute 20 million meals a year, we're going to loose 41 million meals as a result of this cut. >> reporter: the cuts mean a family of four will receive

about $40 less a month. the food bank say they are more and more seeing what they skal a few face of hunger. workers who have jobs, but they aren't earning enough. they have jobs but they are still living paycheck to paycheck. >> reporter: gail was once in need of food stamps and now help run the food pantry. sgloovrjs i remember being divorced and raising my boys by myself, and i went to apply for food stamps and i was turned down. i was working -- i have always had a decent job, but i was among the working poor. >> reporter: she says now that the word getting out about the cuts, her regular customers are already looking for more help. >> monshell says she will have to cut back somewhere. >> he loves bananas and apples,

especially strawberries and grapes. >> reporter: second harvest is used to helping people through the end of the month gap in the grocery budget, with the new cuts that gap is going to get wider. new abortion restrictions go into effect today in texas. most of the regulations have been reinstated while a lawsuit moves forward. lawyers for planned parenthood and other abortion providers argue the regulations don't protect women and would shut down a third of the abortion clinics in texas. protests are being planned in new york city in response to the federal court decision there to halt the changes to the controversial stop and frisk program. law enforcement officials claim it helped bring down the crime rate.

well, the holiday shopping season has started at least according to wall marted. the retailer pushing its holiday sales forward by a month. it is taking price cuts on tvs and tablets that are usually offered the say after thanksgiving. the marriage of office max and office depot is getting the blessing of the federal government. regulators are giving the thumbs up to the $1.2 billion. they signed off on the deal eight months ago, the companies say the combination will help them compete with the industry leader, staples. back in 1997 the government blocked the merger when office depot and staples after anti-trust laws were raised.

gm is leading the pack of car sales with 16% in gains. ford jumped in with a gain of 14%, and chrysler said it has the strongest october since 2007. and here is an example of technology that clashed with the law. a california woman says she has been sited because she wore her google glassings when she was driving. she was quote, driving with monitor visible to driver. the law was meant to stop drivers from watching tvs or other devices that might destruct them. but the woman says her glasses weren't on at the time. officials are breaking ground on the nation's first high-speed rail system. the details are straight ahead.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at krour top stories. iraq's prime minister meeting with president obama at the house with this afternoon. the two leaders are expected to discuss how to end the vie lengs that has killed thousands of iraq dwlis year. >> new evidence shows that just 248 people signed up for health care coverage in the first two days of the prom rollout. after years of infighting the united states is finally catching up with europe and asia. california building what you are seeing right now, a high speed rail system. people will be able to travel to

los angeles to san fran in less than two hours. the system will then expand to sacramento to san diego, stretching over 800 miles by the time it's finished. the central valley is the state's most depressed region, and has some of the highest unemployment rates in the country, well above 10%, and with 7 million residents it is larger than some 38 states. militia chan has more from fresno. >> reporter: not much happens in the industry of fresno. sitting in the middle of the state, some say in the middle of nowhere. it's residents have long felt neglected in downtown and on its outskirts are signs of the daily struggle. but in this part of california things might be picking up speed. ♪

>> reporter: this is the future. a vision of an electric, high speed rail whipping through town, an ambition project for a state in love with automobiles. >> by connecting the central valley we would be connecting all of california together. >> reporter: this doesn't look like the kind of place you would expect the first high-speed rail system to be built, but california wants to start in one of the poorest regions of the state. the purpose of the train is not only to move people, but to jump start the economy. the city hopes to turn its unemployed to work on the railroad over the next decade and beyond. many here have spent their lives working odd jobs, and now they are learn skills, the tools of the trade for a permanent career. >> beforehand nothing. i was out of work, just raising

my three little daughters. i'm a single father, so for this opportunity is really, really exciting for me for the possibility. >> reporter: even those that you wouldn't expect to welcome the project have put the greater good above personal interest. >> we all grow up here, and so yeah, i have a lot of fondness for the area. i would like to see it progress though, and this is an opportunity for us to do just that. >> reporter: but most residents remain skeptical. this is a conservative enclave in a generally blue state. people here distrust big government. >> but have bigger issues right now such as water. so you know what i mean? to go from water to high-speed rail. it just -- i don't know. >> none of these projects -- go projects they have are within budget, and believe me this

thing has a lot of crony capitalism. >> reporter: for a century all of the central valley has ever known has been agriculture. that has driven its economy. it has made men rich, yet kept most here poor, and some see this moment as its season of change. construction on that high-speed rail has been delayed over and over again. this time officials are facing a deadline to complete by 2013 or risk losing $2.3 billion. powerful storms pounds parts of ohio late thursday night. it caused flash flooding in sections of texas and left two people there dead, tornado warnings also issued. ♪

i'm dave warren. we watched that line move through pennsylvania. a lot of warnings coming in, but just wind damage. right now hazards, nothing. so they are no longer severe. you can barely make the line out here. it will continue to push from west to east, so that's what we're watching now. this line will move off of the coast of new england in four hours, so it continues to move from west to east rapidly, and it will move off of the coast and take with it a lot of rain and stormy weather. cold air following it, but the wind will stick around this weekend in fact it will increase. the storm develops off of eastern canada. high-pressure developing over the northwest, and the wind gusts really pick up. and then the temperatures get

even colder. you see the cold air coming? from the north, minneapolis at 41, chicago 46, 61 in memphis, minneapolis will see those temperatures drop. then here comes any cold air, saturday and sunday. as the wind starts to die down a little bit, our lows drop, back up to 51 degrees on monday, there is some chance that we'll see the warm air return, but the rain is back in the forecast on monday and tuesday. temperatures climbing back into the upper 40s and lower 50s. not much happening in the west. here is that cold air coming down, maybe a few isolated showers, but that's about it as far as any type of rain or snow. it's just right here in the northeast right now, but moving off of the coast by this weekend. dell? >> dave warren thank you very much. if you have a craving for

chocolate this next story may tickle your taste buds. the international chocolate awards have just been handed out in london. two japanese chefs winning the honor. their concoctions featured fruit, green tea and pepper. it was judged in part by 300 chocolate experts, and i checked to make sure whether m&m's were also considered there. and neither m&m's plain or peanuts were involved, so it can't have been much of koof competition. we'll finish up looking at the dow. the dow setting major records during october. thanks for watching al jazeera. "the stream" is next. and you can go to aljazeera.com,

where the news continues 24 hours a day. hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in the stream. a bogus hollywood exec, lures state legislators with everything from fine dining to a fake twitter file. what is next after an undercover sting reveals the corruption. our team broke the story, and it. ♪ >> the al jazeera exclusive investigation broke on an fbi string involving ron calderon, the california state senator